RUSSIA

08.17.12

Pussy Riot Rockers Found Guilty

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP

A Moscow judge convicted three members of the feminist punk-rock band Pussy Riot of hooliganism, although the women laughed at times during the verdict. The judge sentenced the trio to two years in jail. The group had entered a Moscow cathedral earlier this year wearing ski masks and short skirts in order to levy protests against President Vladimir Putin’s regime. Protests broke out in Moscow and across the West in support of the band, and White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration has “serious concerns” about the verdict.